Getting house ready for rental + Landlord tips

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

Yeah, I'm HOPING having a PM will make things easier, but I've heard many horror stories...

[misty]

Yeah, I'm HOPING having a PM will make things easier, but I've heard many horror stories...

If you are not familiar with all the rules and regulations, then you are definitely best to get yourself a property manager aat least to begin with. Shop around for a good one (there are some bad ones out there, but there are some brilliant ones as well). Ask others who are renting, who manages the property and what they think about the PM. And if you know others in the same area who are landlords, ask for their opinions on who they are using / have used. Why clauses in iten you enter a contract with a PM make sure you read it well first. Many will have sneeky clauses in them which say things like "the managing agent will be entitled to a sales commission if at any time in the future you sell this property to any person who has been a tenant or who veiwed the house whilst looking for a tenant" (and remeber this commission will be paid on TOP of the sales commission to a sales agent). You have the power when finding a PM and you are well within your rights to cross out any clauses in the management contract which you do not feel comfortable with.

You definitely want LL insurance. Terri Sheer is the best one out there on the market, although there are others - just make sure that the others cover everything, many of them exclude a lot of things that are covered under the terri sheer policy. This will cover you in the event of some disaster (the tenant runs out without paying rent, trashes the place, etc). Hopefully you never have to use it. You will also need to ensure you still have building insurance with limited contents insurance (just ensure whatever insurance you have still covers things like carpets and cutains / blinds, etc.

[meow]

Oh good tip about asking around. We chatted to our next door neighbours who were renting and they helped strike one PM off the list.

[misty]

We have specified with our PM that they cann't inncurr any expenses (except for those legislated as emergency expenses) without first getting our approval - there is no maintainence allowance, because we want to ensure that the PM has actually gotten us the best possible quote, and isn't just going ahead with improvements which aren't actually maintainence (plus our IP is a brand new build, so alot of issues are still covered under builders warranty - so we don't want to be out of pocket for things we don't need to be). We also prefer not to have these costs taken out of the rental income - but rather pay for it seperately with the invoices being directed straight to us for payment, so we can put it on the LOC or CC and recyycle a bit of debt ).

Also find yourself an accountant who is actually up-to-date on the ins and outs of taxation of property investment. Many claim they are, but really don't have a clue what they are doing and could end up costing you $$$$ if you are ever audited by the ATO.

[Mak]

There are good property managers out there - interview a few and let them know you are shopping around for the best service and deals. Be realistic about repairs and incurring ongoing costs as part of managing your investment. It can be tricky to detach emotionally from a property you live in to one purely for $$. GL